Spicy Beef and Pork BBQ: tender, fall-apart meat and a deeply flavorful, naturally thickened barbecue sauce. (I’m afraid my pictures don’t do it justice, but trust me, it’s exceptional and guest-worthy.)
6-8
servings17
minutes3
hours23
minutesIngredients
1 boneless pork and beef roast, 5 lbs.
2 Tbs coconut oil
1 white onion, peeled and diced finely
1 three-inch piece (peeled) ginger, minced
10 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2-3 cups of beef broth
¾ cup gochujang
½ cup ketchup
⅓ cup fresh lime juice
2 Tbs light brown sugar
3 Tbs plum sauce
1 Tbs fish sauce
1 Tbs soy sauce
1-3 Tbs rice vinegar
Directions
- Pat the roast dry. Set the Instant Pot to SAUTÉ, more (30 minutes). When you get the “hot” indication, add the oil, swirl it around as it melts, and then sear the roast on all sides until deep brown: 10 minutes for the top, 10 for the bottom, then give as many of the sides as you can 1 minute each until you exhaust the timer. (Use a spatter screen. Use a roasting fork and a wooden spatula to help turn the roast in the pot.) Remove the roast; set aside.
- Re-set the Instant Pot to SAUTÉ and accept its default settings. Add the onion, ginger, and garlic to the pot and sauté for 3-5 minutes.
- Deglaze the pot with beef broth, or if deglazing isn’t necessary, simply add the broth. (The pot must be thoroughly deglazed, or you’ll get a burn notification later in the cooking process.) CANCEL the sauté.
- Stir in the gochujang, ketchup, brown sugar, plum sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, and rice vinegar.
- Place the roast onto the steam rack (with the handles up) and lower the roast and rack into the pot. Cover, and set the Instant Pot to MEAT/STEW, high (pressure), more (65 minutes); natural release for 15 minutes.
- Use the handles to lift the roast out of the pot. Set the pot to SAUTÉ, more (30 minutes). Use a chopstick to measure the depth of the sauce. Reduce it by half. It should be as thick as, well, barbecue sauce. CANCEL the sauté. Snip the string off the roast and discard it, then return the roast to the pot. Use two roasting forks to pull the roast apart into man-bite-size chunks. I find a twisting motion of the fork works best. By the time you’re done, the sauce will have reheated the meat. Serve!
Notes
- If you do get a burn notification, take note of how many minutes are left on the timer, cancel the program, and manual release. Once you’re able to open the pot, use the steam rack’s handles to remove the roast, and use a flexible spatula to assiduously scrape the bottom of the pot. Once you’re satisfied that there is absolutely nothing stuck to it, return the roast and reset the program, deducting the amount of cooking time that previously elapsed.
- I developed this recipe for a six-quart Instant Pot. If using a different size or type of pot, you may need to make modifications.
It’s sweet, tangy, and umami on overload. It’s also addictive. The meat is tender and just gorgeous to eat. The color and velvety texture of the sauce … I just cannot believe how beautifully it turned out. It couldn’t be more perfect. (My photography skills, on the other hand, could be a lot more perfect. These are chunks of BBQ in a sauce … but I just couldn’t get it styled right on the plate.)
Social Learning
My local butcher created “beef and pork roasts” by rolling cuts of both together and tying them up. He featured them as a weekly special. I’m not sure what cuts he used. (I think it might’ve been sirloin tip, and a “fresh ham” roast – which is not ham, but a type of pork roast.) I’m going to ask him next time I’m in and I’ll get back to you. In the meantime, though, I think you could do something similar by cooking a chuck and shoulder in the same pot.
Is it Korean? Is it American? It’s more of a fusion. If you really know Korean barbecue, you’ll taste its influence – especially in the gochujang and the spiciness. If you’re a fan of American barbecue, the significant tomato component will seem familiar, though you might note the absence of smokiness.
Cooking Notes:
Instead of breaking the roast into chunks in the pot, you could do it on a cutting board and then rewarm the meat in the sauce.
This takes quite a long time to cook in something called an “instant” pot. But a lot of that time is unattended. Even when it comes to reducing the sauce – you need to stir it only occasionally and can walk away from it the rest of the time. Reducing the sauce, by the way, will leave your house smelling like barbecue heaven for days; you can counteract that with an essential oil diffuser in a matter of a few hours if you want to.
Serving Notes:
This is way too intense to eat on its own. It needs to be paired with something neutral, like mashed potatoes or rice. Corn bread might also be nice. I suspect that it’d make one hell of a sandwich if you shredded some of it and topped it with a really good cole slaw. The bun would have to be top-notch, and couldn’t be something that would fall apart if it soaked up some sauce.
The Backstory
I honestly cannot believe what I’ve done here. I’ve created barbecue that’s worthy of a cook-off! It’s explosively flavorful. Seriously, this actually might be too much flavor for some people.
It’s also got a kick. Measuring on the Lawrence scale, when you first taste-test it, you’re going to think it’s a five (ooh, she’s warm) or six (is this show real), but after it sits a few minutes, the heat scales itself down to something more like a three (that’s a good wing). The heat is deep with a subtle tingle. It slowly dawns on you, then plays itself out on your pallate and not in your sinuses.
By the way, my local butcher did not sponsor this post – although I’m tempted to take some of this barbecue down to him and suggest that he should! He suggested that I cook it up like a traditional roast, but I like that I’ve done with it, and I think he’d be pretty surprised by it.
Spicy Beef and Pork BBQ
Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. Thank you, Kesor. Thank you, ⌘+C. Make It Like a Man! is ranked by Feedspot as #5 in the Top 30 Men’s Cooking Blogs.
Keep up with us on Bloglovin’
Jeff, this spicy beef and pork BBQ looks amazing – bold, smoky, and packed with flavor. Perfect for a hearty feast.
Thanks, Ben!
I absolutely love your homemade bbq sauce. Using the gochujang, plum and fish sauces gives it such a fun, unique flair. Also, thank you for the great tip on how to work around a burn notification!
Thanks, Heidi!
Well I’ve never heard of a beef pork roast!!! Great looking recipe. I love the Asian flavors.
I had never heard of it either! Thanks!
That looks and sounds absolutely amazing! And another winner in the Instant Pot!
Thanks, Eva!
C’est appétissant et c’est bon avec le brocoli
Bonne soirée
Thank you!
That spicy beef and pork BBQ looks unreal
Thanks!
Well I was going to say that I had never heard of a beef and pork roast and then read that your butcher had created it. Your spicy way of cooking it sounds terrific.
Thanks, Karen!
I’m going to consult my local butcher and see if a beef and pork roast is in his repertoire. I’ve never heard of such a thing, but it sounds marvelous!
It’s a weird combination, but it looked so good at the store, I couldn’t resist. It’s very interesting to be eating ba chunk of beef and a chunk of pork in the same dish. It really strikes up their contrast! But flavorwise, it was in perfect harmony.
Now that sounds like a damn good butcher! I’m intrigued by this beef and pork roast combo that he’s come up with. Sounds like I need to take a trip to Chicago!
Thanks, David!